Tort laws are laws that offer remedies to individuals harmed by the
unreasonable actions of others. Tort claims usually involve state law and are based on the
legal premise that individuals are liable for the consequences of their conduct if it
results in injury to others (McCarthy & Cambron-McCabe, 1992). Tort laws involve civil
suits, which are actions brought to protect an individuals private rights. There are
two major categories of torts typically seen in education-related cases: intentional and
negligence.

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts are usually offenses committed by a person who attempts or intends to
do harm. For intent to exist, the individual must be aware that injury will be the result
of the act. A common type of intentional tort is assault. Assault refers to an overt
attempt to physically injure a person or create a feeling of fear and apprehension of
injury. No actual physical contact need take place for an assault to occur. Battery, on
the other hand, is an intentional tort that results from physical contact. For example, if
a person picks up a chair and threatens to hit another person, assault has occurred; if
the person then actually hits the second person, battery has occurred. Both assault and
battery can occur if a person threatens another, causing apprehension and fear, and then
actually strikes the other, resulting in actual injury.

Teachers accused of assault and battery are typically given considerable leeway by the
courts (Alexander & Alexander, 1992). This is because assault and battery cases often
result from attempts to discipline a student or stop a student from injuring someone.
Courts are generally reluctant to interfere with a teachers authority to discipline
students (Valente, 1994). Courts have found teachers guilty of assault and battery,
however, when a teachers discipline has been cruel, brutal, excessive, or
administered with malice, anger, or intent to injure.

In determining if a teachers discipline constitutes excessive and unreasonable
punishment, courts will often examine the age of the student, the instrument, if any, used
to administer the discipline, the extent of the discipline, the nature and gravity of the
students offense, the history of the students previous conduct, and the temper
and conduct of the teacher. For example, a teacher in Louisiana was sued and lost a case
for assault and battery for picking up a student and slamming him against bleachers. The
teacher then dropped the student to the floor resulting in the students arm being
broken (Frank v. New Orleans Parish School Board, 1967). In Connecticut, a student was
awarded damages when a teacher slammed the student against a chalkboard and then a wall,
breaking the students clavicle (Sansone v. Bechtel,1980). Clearly, both of these
actions were excessive and indicate that in such situations teachers may be held
personally liable for injuries that occur to students because of the teachers
behavior.

Negligence Torts

The second type of tort seen most frequently in education related cases is negligence.
The difference between negligence and an intentional tort is that in negligence the acts
leading to injury are neither expected nor intended. Students who bring negligence claims
must prove that school personnel should have foreseen and prevented the injury by
exercising proper care. Accidents that could not have been prevented by reasonable care do
not constitute negligence (McCarthy & Cambron-McCabe, 1992).

There are four elements that must be present for negligence to occur: (1) the teacher
must have a duty to protect students from unreasonable risks, (2) the teacher must have
failed in that duty by not exercising a reasonable standard of care, (3) there must be a
causal connection between the breach of the duty to care and the resulting injury, and (4)
there must be an actual physical or mental injury resulting from the negligence. In a
court, all four elements must be proven before damages will be awarded for negligence.